THE COLLAPSE OF THE SOVIET UNION AND THE PRODUCTIVITY OF AMERICAN MATHEMATICIANS

George Borjas and Kirk Doran

Chapter 11 in Foundational Essays in Immigration Economics, 2021, pp 313-373 from World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.

Abstract: It has been difficult to open up the black box of knowledge production. We use unique international data on the publications, citations, and affiliations of mathematicians to examine the impact of a large, post-1992 influx of Soviet mathematicians on the productivity of their U.S. counterparts. We find a negative productivity effect on those mathematicians whose research overlapped with that of the Soviets. We also document an increased mobility rate (to lower quality institutions and out of active publishing) and a reduced likelihood of producing ‘‘home run’’ papers. Although the total product of the preexisting American mathematicians shrank, the Soviet contribution to American mathematics filled in the gap. However, there is no evidence that the Soviets greatly increased the size of the ‘‘mathematics pie.’’ Finally, we find that there are significant international differences in the productivity effects of the collapse of the Soviet Union, and these international differences can be explained by both differences in the size of the émigré flow into the various countries and in how connected each country is to the global market for mathematical publications.

Keywords: Immigration; Economics; Labor Markets; Refugees; Self-selection; Return Migration; Migration; Costs and Benefits from Immigration; Assimilation; Cohort Effects; National Origin; Ethnicity; Neighborhood Effects; Ethnic Capital; Internal Migration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F66 J01 J15 J61 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Related works:
Journal Article: The Collapse of the Soviet Union and the Productivity of American Mathematicians (2012)
Working Paper: The Collapse of the Soviet Union and the Productivity of American Mathematicians (2012)
Working Paper: The Collapse of the Soviet Union and the Productivity of American Mathematicians (2012)
Working Paper: The Collapse of the Soviet Union and the Productivity of American Mathematicians (2012)
Working Paper: The Collapse of the Soviet Union and the Productivity of American Mathematicians (2012)
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